Mountain lion sighting forces Lab staff to shelter in place

The mountain lion was spotted on McMillan Road on the Berkeley Lab campus

Update, 2:31pm: Authorities have determined that the mountain lion has moved on, Lab staff who had been told to shelter in place have been given the all-clear, and McMillan Road has been reopened, according to Lab spokesperson Jon Weiner.

Original story: A confirmed mountain lion sighting has closed part of McMillan Road on the Berkeley Lab campus in the Berkeley hills today, and employees in several nearby Lab buildings are being asked to shelter in place until told otherwise.

The Lab sent an internal email to staff at 1:47 pm today alerting them of the situation. It said that the UC police were on the scene and California Fish & Game was also responding.

At 2:20pm Lab spokesperson Jon Weiner said police and California Fish & Game staff were tracking the animal. The decision to ask employees to stay indoors is standard protocol, he said. “Any time there is any potential danger to employees we would take this step.”

I think I’m going to head down to downtown Berkeley where it’s safe to sit on the sidewalk!

Completely_Serious

Isn’t a mountain lion also known as a cougar? Shouldn’t they be sounding the alarm about the mass of cougars down at Wood Tavern, dangerously close to Berkeley?

Doug Maisel

When I hear “shelter in place” at a re-purposed H-bomb boutique, I expect something more dramatic than a cougar and her cubs. Can’t the emu-size mutant turkeys deal with the lions, just like they wrangle the LBL bikies?